Mt. Berry, Ga. - The Shorter College Hawks basketball team didn't get the start they wanted on Thursday evening, falling to No. 19 Cumberland (Tenn.) University in their first game of the season, at the Berry College Classic, 62-56.

"I'm real proud of our effort tonight and really disappointed in our execution," said head coach Chad Warner. "It's one game though and we'll try to correct some things and move on."

Shorter's (0-1) Tomas Pranciliauskas led all scorers in the game, going 6-for-18 on field goals with three 3-pointers, for 17 points. He was followed by Fred Christopher, who was one rebound away from a double-double, with 11 points and nine rebounds.

The Cumberland Bulldogs were paced by Quentin Turner's 14 points and seven rebounds.

The first game of the season for both teams started out with only two points for each in the first five minutes. After the Hawks went behind 20-14 on a shot from Cumberland's (1-0) Thomas Douglas with under five minutes left in the first half, Shorter regained the lead on nine unanswered points in two minutes. The first twenty minutes ended with both teams at 24.

After a back-and-forth first ten minutes of the second half, the Bulldogs pulled 12 points ahead of the Hawks with a little over five minutes remaining in the contest. Shorter made it a five-point game with a minute-and-a-half remaining but couldn't close the gap, as Cumberland won 62-56.

Free throws made up a large portion of the game, with Cumberland going 21-for-37 and Shorter going 8-for-21. The Hawks were 22-for-59 on field goals, and 4-for-18 beyond the arc.

"It's hard to win a game when you miss those free throws," added Warner. "Those are points you have to make."

Shorter has a chance to redeem themselves tomorrow night as they play Union College, again in the Berry Classic. Tip-off is at 6 p.m. in Berry's Cage Center.